We're Going On A Bear Hunt
by QuickSilverFox3
Summary: Aurors have to follow the clues and solve the puzzles in front of them, so how will the Weasley grandchildren fare on this devious scavenger hunt? (Written for IWSC Summer Camp R3) Everybody Lives AU, Canon Divergence


**WEEK 3: Scavenger Hunt (100 points).**

**Creativity is a scavenger hunt. It's your obligation to pay attention to clues, to the thing that gives you that little tweak.**

**Write about the Aurors on a case.**

**AU Explanation: Everybody lives AU, Kingsley x Moody; Fred x Angelina, George x Lee: George II and Roxanne are Fred's kids, Fred II and Oriana are George's. Albus Severus has been renamed Regulus Rebeus + Scorpius is there. **

»»-►

"Now this," Moody cast his magical eye slowly along the upturned faces, sixteen in total. The new recruits seemed to get younger every year, his age finally beginning to catch up with him.

"This is a mission of the utmost importance."

Immediately a small hand shot into the air, the owner almost vibrating in her enthusiasm. A second hand joined hers, this one slower, more hesitant.

"Utmost means the most," Moody explained, watching Regulus' hand drop back down, a small smile directed the ex-Auror's way, the boy immediately latching himself back onto Scorpius' arm, the two wearing matching wide smiles.

"You got a question Rose?" he growled towards the young girl, the entire Weasley clan used to his rough tone.

"Do we get to pick own our teams Uncle Moody?" she began, counting off items on her fingers as she progressed, angrily pushing back her curls as they escaped the bobble they were previously bound in, "And are there points? Do we win a prize?"

At the mere mention of a prize, a susurrus of whispers erupted amongst the gathered children, heads turning this way and that as if to catch sight of what they wished to receive.  
"You think Auror's get a prize my girl?" Moody asked, normal eye fixed on Rose while the magical one rolled backwards, focusing on something the children didn't know. He may be old, joints refusing to cooperate even more than they previously did, retired for a second time, but he wasn't deaf just yet. He could hear the whispers start back up again, every mind turned towards the imagining of glittering trophies lying under the watchful gaze of Uncle Moody's magical eye. They weren't wrong, strictly speaking, but Moody was watching a prize of a different kind: a cup of coffee carefully prepared by his husband Kingsley, exactly the way he liked it - sweet enough to stand a spoon upright in, and strong enough to dissolve it.

"But we aren't Aurors Uncle Moody?" Molly Junior said, pushing her glasses up her nose, worrying her lip as she gazed up at him.

"I meant what I said, you are Aurors on a case today," Moody replied, another round of excited squeals following his words. Molly Weasley rapped her knuckles against the doorframe, a basket balanced against her hip.

"Auror badges, as requested," she beamed, floating into the room as her grandchildren shifted their attention, like a pack of starving wolves.

"Teams?" Hugo called, almost climbing over his sister and several of his cousins to reach his grandmother, halting at the clicking of her tongue.

"I will give them out. Line up!" Molly called, with the practice of a woman who raised several children and knew nothing would shake her anymore. With a few pushes and shoves, the older grandchildren nudging the younger in front like tiny shepherds, there was a shaky but passable line, every face set with determination.

"Okay Aurors," Moody barked, the group turning to him as one, "You have your badges," a sea of raised fabric, "you have your assignments," one empty hand shot into the air before Teddy placed the sheet of paper into Louis' hand.

"Go on, off you go," Moody shooed, the children frozen for the briefest of moments before they exploded for the door of the room, a living breathing sea of arms and legs, Dominque steadying the combined force of Roxanne and Oriana, the pair almost slamming into the doorframe in their enthusiasm.

"Having fun?"

"I was never that young," Moody grumbled, accepting the coffee, the bitter scent already beginning to soothe him as Kingsley briefly kissed his temple.

"No, you were born a grumpy old man," he chuckled, taking a sip out of his own mug.

"Damn right."

»»-►

"Slow down Teddy!"

Teddy skidded to a halt, trainers tearing up small clumps of grass in his enthusiasm, head swivelling around the forest that bordered the Burrow. Lush greenery was everywhere, the scent of growing things and the damp after rain filling his nose, and through it all, the sweet scent of Victoire's perfume that clung to her like a cloud.

"The cousins are excited, and it seems you are as well," she laughed from behind him, and he turned to see her balancing along a fallen tree trunk, arms outstretched as she wobbled slightly. The sun poured through her golden hair, skin tanned from a long lazy summer, a smudge of dirt already across one cheek and twigs in her braid, and she had never looked more beautiful.

"I love you," Teddy told her, reaching out to steady her through the last few steps, Victoire quickly skipping through them to jump onto Teddy, his arms wrapping around her waist and raising her up.

"I love you too," she said, leaning down to quickly kiss him, a soft sweet peek, before she brought up the list with a flick of her wand.

"Have the cousins stopped following us?" she whispered, pulling her hair over one shoulder to conceal them.

Teddy frowned, taking advantage of the cover to change his ears, the new appendages beginning to itch painfully as the tips lengthened, folding over to resemble something closer to a bat's ears than a human. Everything was so loud, the incessant thumping of Victoire's heart beating slightly off sync with his own, the wind rustling in the trees overhead, the chirps and hisses of insects, and there! The sounds of grumbling voices, and footsteps moving away through the rustling grass.

Victoire's fingers were gentle against his ears as he slowly morphed them back, her long nails scratching against the worst of the itch before Teddy placed her down, rubbing at his own head furiously.

"All good?"

"Yeah," Teddy replied, shaking his head and swaying slightly as his sense of balance shifted like he was on the deck of a ship.

"Find where the golden sun lies hidden and encased," Victoire read, chewing on the edge of one nail as she thought.

"A sun... Inside a case... Gold circle inside something?" Teddy wondered, idly shifting his own nails, the colours morphing to gold, the tips rounded.

Victoire squeaked, clapping her hands together as she whirled around, excitement clear on her face.

"Eggs! The hen-house!"

Teddy darted off the second the words were out of her mouth, pausing briefly once again to see her break into a run behind him, before he began to run.

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"And there we go!"

Lily Luna squeaked as she was suddenly lifted into the air, arms flailing for a few seconds before she regained her balance, nails scoring rivets into the wood of the shelf.

"You said you were going to lift on three," Rose snapped, barely resisting the urge to stamp her foot as she glared at the objects scattered along the lower shelf, having dived for cover to avoid Lily's suddenly airborne, flailing feet.

"You know numbers give me trouble," Dominque said dismissively, waving her hand like she had seen her mother do a hundred times, flicking her fingers in the air and raining tiny magical sparks. She had carefully coordinated them for their team colour, prodding at the rings on her fingers with her wand, hissing Charms she barely remembered from her third year of school at them until they cooperated and then passed them out to her younger cousins.

"You did that on purpose," Rose grumbled, somewhat half-heartedly, moving to kneel, carefully tapping each trinket with a stick she had taken from James Sirius earlier, longing for a wand of her own.

"See anything Lily?" Dominque asked, grunting slightly as she readjusted her grip, arms already beginning to tremble from the strain of holding the eight-year-old aloft with no support.

"No!" Lily answered, eyes darting this way and that, nose beginning to twitch from all the pollen in the air, some stray dust which had escaped Molly Weasley's cleaning Charms beginning to add to the mix and-

Rose's hands slipped under her feet, sandals hanging precariously off her flexed toes leaving her heels free, stabilising the duo, just in time for Lily to dissolve into a sneezing fit.

"This was a dumb idea," Rose said, the pair carefully lowering Lily downwards, Dominque collapsing into an armchair, springs groaning in protest.

"Lighten up Miss Grumpy Pants," Dominque groaned as well, rolling her eyes, "What do you think?"

"Read the clue again," Rose said, adding a disgruntled "Please" through gritted teeth when Dominque showed no signs of moving.

"Of course, darling cousin," she responded, flashing a winning smile Rose's way, winking at Lily so she giggled.

"No head have I but face instead. Find me and hear what I said."

"I think Uncle Moody's had too much fun with these clues," Rose said, tapping her cheeks with her fingers in a disjointed rhythm.

Lily's gaze passed over the trinkets lining the shelves again, shivering slightly in the breeze from the open windows.

"No head, but a face?"

"No head but a face," Dominque confirmed, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

"A face that talks..." Lily wondered, her thoughts cutting off as Rose sat bolt upright, shoulders cracking as she did so.

"The clock!"

"The clock?" Dominque repeated, slowly raising herself up, eyes widening as the idea bounced around her head. Lily was already moving, feet skittering across the wooden boards as she charged into the hallway, narrowly avoiding Lucy who was pulled back by her collar by Roxanne and Oriana as Rose and Dominque ran after her, giggling in delight.

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"So, what is Hogwarts like, Louis?"

Louis paused from where he was submerged in a nearby basket, wool hanging from his head like webs.

"I'm enjoying it," Louis said, plucking the wool from his head with a frown, clucking his tongue as he peered into the basket he had been digging in, "People keep staring at James like they expect him to change into some sort of superhero in the middle of lessons, it's weird."

"People already stare at you all when we're out in Diagon Alley," Scorpius added, scrabbling to pick up a discarded ball of wool, the end creating a taunting trail as Regulus' stopped it against the side of his shoe.

"It's weird, I know there was a war, but it's been years," Regulus complained, rubbing at the back of his head and messing up his hair in a move that was eerily similar to both his dad and his older brother.

"I think it might just be a grown-up thing," Louis added, casting a critical eye over the next basket, pulling out a pair of knitting needles and setting them carefully on the bed.

"Are we sure this is the right place to be looking?" Regulus asked, tracing one finger over the careful script on their clue, frowning around at the room, fabric rolls slipping over onto the floor, wool criss-crossing the floor in a grid of colours.

"Seek your prize where woollen gifts are made," Louis quoted, hand resting on his heart, eyes closed as he remembered, "And this is where Granma Molly makes all our Christmas jumpers."

"She doesn't though," Scorpius said slowly, light dawning in his eyes, almost dropping the ball of wool in his haste to get over to Regulus and Louis, "She knits in that big armchair in the sitting room."

The three boys looked at each other before diving for the door, Louis taking an early lead thanks to his extra height as they barrelled down the stairs, whooping in delight.

»»-►

"Are you going to behave?" Molly snarled, yanking James' face down to hers until they were nose to nose, wobbling precariously on the second landing, her other hand holding Hugo's, the boy clutching the fabric badge like a lifeline.

"Prizes, Molly, prizes!" James said, waving his arms as if to back up his point.

"You won't get to enjoy them if I tell Uncle Moody you weren't playing fair," Molly said seriously, raising an eyebrow as James gaped at her, glasses askew.

"Fine," he scowled, "Can you read the clue again please Hugo?"

"A place where grown men fear to tread, toil and trouble spill out from here," Hugo read, stumbling slightly over the words, speaking around the fabric badge.

"Where grown men fear to tread is obvious," James scoffed, rolling his eyes, "It's clearly-"

"The attic." "Uncle Fred and George's room."

Molly looked down at Hugo, the small boy flushing at the combined weight of James and Molly looking at him.

"I think Hugo has a good point James," Molly said slowly, "Uncle Charlie did say you couldn't pay him enough to go in there, and he works with dragons."

"And Uncle Bill yells for them from the landing and he's seen all sorts of weird traps in ancient Egyptian tombs!" James added, bouncing on the balls of his feet, dragging Molly a few inches forward with him as he started towards the stairs before pausing.

"Do you want to go first Hugo?" he offered, the younger boy nodding so fast he was almost a blur, scrambling up the stairs on his hands and knees.

"Ladies first," James added with a bow and a dramatic flourish, Molly sweeping past him with a snort of laughter that barely masked the word 'Chicken'.

»»-►

"'Oxanne?" Lucy called, "'Riana?"

"Yeah?" the two girls called in unison, alike enough to be twins and difficult to tell apart in broad daylight, let alone in the shadows of the pantry. Lucy balanced the door open, kicking the doorstop back into place and wincing at the sound. It seemed so loud with everyone isolated in different parts of the house.

"Please don't swap jumpers," Lucy said, creating a small globe light and sending it up to the ceiling, staring down the guilty looking girls as they tugged at the bottoms of their jumpers, each emblazoned with a large letter (O and R respectively).

"We haven't!" Most-likely Oriana insisted as Most-likely Roxanne nodded enthusiastically next to her. Lucy stared them down, weighing up the benefits of this argument in her head and found it wanting, instead shrugging and heading down into the dark.

"Why are we even in here?" she asked instead, peering over their shoulder and immediately clocking the large delectable plate of cookies, steam rolling around the stasis charm, "Ah."

"It's part of the clue," Roxanne insisted, pushing a slightly melted chocolate chip cookie into Lucy's hands, a second cookie being crammed into her mouth, cheeks bulging.

"You know the actual clue is taking about the pond, don't you?" Lucy checked, tactfully ignoring the way both of her cousins' hands snagged another two cookies each, their eyes lighting up with an almost terrifying gleam.

"Race you!" they yelled, but Lucy was faster, bolting back up the stairs and down the corridor, their hands on her collar choking her slightly as Lily's group ran on in front of her, cheeks still bulging with stolen cookies.

»»-►

"Gred the second?"

"Yes, Forge the second?"

"I don't think this was the best idea."

George II paused, eyed up their quarry and, swiftly realising they had not been leading them to the treasure, swiftly spun on his heel and started walking the other way, batting branches out of his way as he did so. Fred II followed him after a few seconds, stretching out to take his hand, their arms beginning to swing violently, a harsh drumbeat to match the black mood.

"I don't want this summer to be over," George said finally, aiming a vicious kick at a pile of leaves in his way.

"When the summer is over, we go to Hogwarts," Fred pointed out, the swinging of their hands slowing down until they were standing still, George refusing to meet his gaze.

"What happens if we wind up in different houses? We won't be Gred and Forge, we'll be different," George burst out, unable to keep the words contained a second longer, gesturing wildly with one hand.

"Is that what you've been worried about all summer?" Fred asked, laughter beginning to trickle into his voice, "I've been worried it was serious!"

George glared at his cousin, unable to hold onto his anger as his cousin doubled over giggling.

"We'll always be Gred and Forge, our Hogwarts houses won't affect anything," Fred announced to the empty forest, "We will be legendary pranksters, more than the Marauders, more than Dad and Uncle."

"Promise?" George asked, his voice small and wobbly.

"Promise. Now let's go and dig up near the big oak tree, I think that's where our prize is."

The duo grinned at each other and began to run, hand in hand, laughter trailing behind them.

»»-►

"Have you all had a good time kids?"

Molly Weasley beamed with pride as all her grandchildren turned to her, cheeks bulging with chocolate and wide grins.

"Excellent work love," Kingsley murmured into Moody's ear, tapping their mugs together in a toast as his husband grumbled good-naturedly, a small smile on his face.


End file.
